Mushfiq will call this his best innings if Bangladesh win

Published at 02:56 pm November 12th, 2018

Bangladesh batsman Mushfiqur Rahim plays a shot against Zimbabwe at the second day of the second Test in Mirpur Md Manik

Bangladesh needed to overcome their poor form with the bat and Mushfiq has kept the side on track with his second double hundred in the format

Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim will call his unbeaten 219-run innings the best one of his career if the home side can win the game against Zimbabwe.

The Tigers went into the game with their backs against the wall having lost the first game in Sylhet.

Bangladesh needed to overcome their poor form with the bat and Mushfiq has kept the side on track with his second double hundred in the format.

After declaring on 522 runs for seven wickets, he believes they have put enough runs for a win, and to avoid a humiliating series defeat against a lower-ranked side.

With the milestone, Mushfiq made numerous records.

He became the highest scorer for Bangladesh in Tests, surpassing Shakib al Hasan’s 217 runs; he scored the most number of double hundreds by a wicketkeeper-batsman in the format; and also became the first Bangladeshi to face the most balls in a Test innings – 421.

The right-handed batsman is the only Bangladesh batter to reach the milestone twice, having scored the first against Sri Lanka, an innings of exactly 200 in Galle in 2013

“If we can win this game, this innings will be on top of every other innings that I’ve played so far. We drew the Galle Test so the focus will be on winning this game. Galle was tough. We had to reply to their big first innings total. There was plenty of help for the bowlers on this wicket, and Zimbabwe were bowling well too. Both innings are different. I will say this was a good innings because I played a lot of deliveries. I was also more compact,” said an elated Mushfiq to the media at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium Monday.

This was his first hundred in Mirpur, which is home to Bangladesh cricket.

The right-handed batsman informed that he is happy to have finally scored a hundred at the venue.

In the innings, he was patient, facing 421 deliveries, and leaving the ball 77 times.

“When you are playing Tests, patience is key. And when you are playing on a wicket like Mirpur, you are never set to be honest. I think as a batsman it was also a big plus point for me, because on other wickets maybe I would have gone for my shots. So from that viewpoint, I had to concentrate hard on every ball because, as you have seen, even with the old ball there was extra bounce or it was keeping low. So it also helped me,” said Mushfiq.

With this mammoth innings, Mushfiq has partially silenced his critics.

With the Bangladesh top-order exposed, it was questioned why Mushfiq was not batting up the order, and if it was to help him recover from the physically taxing wicket-keeping duties.

And why is it necessary for him to do the job given that there are two other wicket-keepers - Mohammad Mithun and Liton Das - in the playing XI.

“As I have said repeatedly, keeping helps me a lot. That doesn’t mean that I will score centuries or double centuries in every match where I keep. But it is my process and I am a big believer in process and preparation,” said Mushfiq.

“Now I have to contribute in the way the team management decides. Sometimes, there is a bit of a problem managing the workload of the two roles, but I think it is a challenge and one which I always enjoy. I am the kind of person who does not want to sit in the dressing room doing nothing. I want to stay on the field and contribute. If I continue to be given this responsibility, I believe I will be able to do it,” he added.

2ND TEST, DAY 2

BANGLADESH 1ST INNINGS R B

Liton c Mavuta b Jarvis 9 35

Imrul c Chakabva b Jarvis 0 16

Mominul c Chari b Chatara 161 247

Mithun c Taylor b Jarvis 0 4